Magazine Article

Stable Satellite Orbits for Global Coverage of the Moon

TBMG-128

06/01/2006

Abstract
Content

A document proposes a constellation of spacecraft to be placed in orbit around the Moon to provide navigation and communication services with global coverage required for exploration of the Moon. There would be six spacecraft in inclined elliptical orbits: three in each of two orthogonal orbital planes, suggestive of a linked-chain configuration. The orbits have been chosen to (1) provide 99.999-percent global coverage for ten years and (2) to be stable under perturbation by Earth gravitation and solar-radiation pressure, so that no deterministic firing of thrusters would be needed to maintain the orbits. However, a minor amount of orbit control might be needed to correct for such unmodeled effects as outgassing of the spacecraft.

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Citation
"Stable Satellite Orbits for Global Coverage of the Moon," Mobility Engineering, June 1, 2006.
Additional Details
Publisher
Published
Jun 1, 2006
Product Code
TBMG-128
Content Type
Magazine Article
Language
English